2008

It has been produced in commercial quantities for more than 100 years and was once considered a precious metal more valuable than gold. Today Monash University expertise is making aluminium an even more versatile resource.

Despite competition from composite materials like carbon fibre, aluminium is here to stay, according to leading Australian metals expert Professor Barry Muddle, who believes the metal, already valued for its strength, malleability, and resistance to corrosion, can be made even lighter and stronger.

The forecast is good news for Australia, with its abundant supplies of bauxite and smelters in Victoria and Queensland. And good news for Monash University, which has forged a strategic partnership with the giant Aluminium Corporation of China (known as CHALCO), the largest producer of aluminium in the world's fastest-growing aluminium market.

Two foundation projects are about to commence as part of a $2.3 million research agreement between the Chinese company and the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Design in Light Metals, based at Monash University's Clayton campus.

The first project seeks to develop aluminium alloys for automotive panels, replacing steel, in the drive for lighter and more energy-efficient vehicles. The second seeks to develop the next generation of aluminium alloys for the aircraft industry, improving on the toughness and stress resistance of the current industry-standard aluminium alloys.

“The results of the review really show the high-calibre of Australian research and researchers.

Developing stronger and lighter aluminium is vital to achieving fuel savings in cars and aircraft. Professor Muddle said he believed the partnership was the first major investment in research and development by CHALCO outside China. The company is investing $3 billion in a mine at Aurukun at Cape York in far north Queensland and a new alumina refinery in Queensland.

"This co-investment in light alloy technology in Melbourne goes hand-in-hand with the investment in the Aurukun mine. It's unusual for an international company to not just invest in the resource base but also invest in the research and development base of this country. Even when the Australian Federal Government has required international companies to offset resource investment, it's been difficult to get real traction. So having the Chinese investing in technology is a big step forward," Professor Muddle, the centre's research director, said.

CHALCO is the largest producer of alumina in China and the second largest producer of alumina in the world, behind US-based Alcoa. It plans to be producing new-generation aluminium for Chinese-made commercial aircraft by 2020.

Professor Muddle said knowledge would be shared between Australian researchers and CHALCO through an agreement that recognised Australian intellectual property. The first two projects will commence in late 2008 and will involve dedicated research staff from Monash, as well as CHALCO staff who will be seconded to the University for the duration of the projects.

The ARC Centre coordinates the principal metals research groups in Australia. The centre's major research programs aim to boost Australia's light metals industry by improving the performance of the alloys aluminium, magnesium and titanium.

The ARC Centre combines the expertise of leading materials scientists and engineers from Monash University, the CSIRO, the University of Queensland, University of New South Wales, Deakin University, the University of Sydney and the University of Melbourne.

The Centre was established in 2005 with a $14.5 million Australian Research Council grant over five years. It has also received Victorian Government funding of $1.5 million and participant university cash contributions of $5.1 million, providing an initial five-year research budget of $21 million.

Since its commencement, the Centre has also attracted over $6 million in external funding, such as the CHALCO agreement, for national and international research collaborations.